Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert. Red Wagon Books, 1996. ISBN 0-15-201036-X (Board book edition).
Summary: Ehlert presents an alphabet book for the very young, where the letters are accompanied by her trademark style of illustration: vibrantly colored watercolor collage. Some of the fruits and vegetables will be quite familiar to young and old alike, while others, such as xigua, could be a new discovery for many readers.
It would be difficult to find a more delicious introduction to the concept of the alphabet and its ordered letters.
Critical Evaluation: The oversized text of the alphabet letters and the names of the fruits and vegetables are all displayed in both upper and lowercase print. This provides the reader with the option of focusing only on the letters for the youngest child, or of including an examination of the individual names while sharing the book with a slightly older child. This multi-level design allows a child's experience with the work to expand as they develop and gain more pre-literacy skills.
Ehlert has captured the look of each type of food with her gloriously colored collage technique. While simple, the illustrations clearly demonstrate the essence of each fruit and vegetable so that they are easily recognizable.
Age or Interest Level: Ages 0 to 4
Awards: The picture book version of this title won the following awards:
Booklist Editors’ Choice, NCTE Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Language Arts, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, Parenting Reading Magic Award
Why Included? The colors and textures utilized by Ehlert in her watercolors are simply beautiful and are enjoyable to examine closely.